Lemuel Dole Nelme (born c1718 died 1786) was an English craftsman, now remembered for wide-reaching theories on language.
Life
The son of a
Leominster
Leominster ( ) is a market town in Herefordshire, England, at the confluence of the River Lugg and its tributary the River Kenwater. The town is north of Hereford and south of Ludlow in Shropshire. With a population of 11,700, Leominster is t ...
clothworker, he was apprenticed to Thomas Clarke, citizen and fishmonger 6 April 1732 and made free of the City of London in 1743. He was a maker of instruments and dealer in ships' merchandise of the eighteenth century. His son Lemuel Jones Nelme was baptized at
King's Weighouse Chapel 19 August 1749. Nelme was in business in
Exchange Alley
Exchange Alley or Change Alley is a narrow alleyway connecting shops and coffeehouses in an old neighbourhood of the City of London. It served as a convenient shortcut from the Royal Exchange on Cornhill to the Post Office on Lombard Street ...
in London around 1750. He held a Government post as Clerk in 1764, and participated in the
Royal Society of Arts
The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA), also known as the Royal Society of Arts, is a London-based organisation committed to finding practical solutions to social challenges. The RSA acronym is used m ...
at the end of the 1760s. He was buried at Stepney 19 March 1786. His wife Sarah survived him. His will was proved in the Prerogative court of Canterbury on 19 Mar 1786. He mentions his grandfather John Dole of
Rangeworthy, Gloucestershire. The lord of the Rangeworthy and Alderley manors was Matthew Hale, Chief Justice of King's Bench. Matthew Hale was an only child.
Language and symbols
Nelme was the author of ''An essay towards an investigation of the origin and elements of language'' (1772), a speculative book on the origin of languages, and
alphabet symbolism. Nelme was interested in
Anglo-Saxon
The Anglo-Saxons were a Cultural identity, cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo- ...
as
proto-language
In the tree model of historical linguistics, a proto-language is a postulated ancestral language from which a number of attested languages are believed to have descended by evolution, forming a language family. Proto-languages are usually unattest ...
, and compiled (or suggested the compilation of) an Anglo-Saxon dictionary. He is said to have deferred later to the theory of
Rowland Jones on
Celtic
Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to:
Language and ethnicity
*pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia
**Celts (modern)
*Celtic languages
**Proto-Celtic language
* Celtic music
*Celtic nations
Sports Fo ...
as proto-language.
Johanna Drucker
Johanna Drucker (born May 30, 1952) is an American author, book artist, visual theorist, and cultural critic. Her scholarly writing documents and critiques visual language: letterforms, typography, visual poetry, art, and lately, digital art aest ...
[''The Alphabetic Labyrinth'' (1995), p.24, pp. 228-231.] attributes to
Clement of Alexandria
Titus Flavius Clemens, also known as Clement of Alexandria ( grc , Κλήμης ὁ Ἀλεξανδρεύς; – ), was a Christian theologian and philosopher who taught at the Catechetical School of Alexandria. Among his pupils were Origen and ...
's ''
Stromateis'' some of his symbolic theory, outlines his version of Biblical history and the 'ol' ("all") key to symbols, and reproduces some of his illustrations.
Works
*''An Essay towards an Investigation of the Origin and Elements of Language and Letters,'' London, Printed by T. Spilsbury for S. Leacroft (1772); reprinted: R. C. Alston, ed., ''English Linguistics, 1500-1800: a Collection of Facsimile Reprints,'' No. 354. Menston, Scolar Press, (1972).
Google Books.
See also
*
Linguistics
Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Linguis ...
*
Historical linguistics
Historical linguistics, also termed diachronic linguistics, is the scientific study of language change over time. Principal concerns of historical linguistics include:
# to describe and account for observed changes in particular languages
# ...
*
Proto-language
In the tree model of historical linguistics, a proto-language is a postulated ancestral language from which a number of attested languages are believed to have descended by evolution, forming a language family. Proto-languages are usually unattest ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nelme, Lemuel Dole
Nelme, LD
Nelme, LD
Year of birth unknown
1718 births